How did an age of kings, nobility and absolute power become a Europe with republics, constitutions, and widespread participation in government? What role did nationalism play? Industrialisation? Cultural trends? The changes came slowly and varied greatly across the continent. We will explore the many causes of this: the ideas of the Enlightenment, the example of the USA, the growing percentage of the population that was middle class or wealthy but non-noble. We will also study conservative reactions and their successes and failures to stop or to roll back revolutionary change.